Oil-shale retort



Pate*nt ed Sept. 1, 1925.

UNITED STATES ROBERT H. CROZIER, OF RANGOON, BURMA OILSHALE RE'IORT.

Application fi1ed September 5, 1923. Serial N0. 661,023.

T0 all w7zom z't may concern:

Be it known that I, ROBERT HENRY Gnoz1121c, 21 subject of the King ofGreat Britain und Northorn lrelziii und resig1ing at Rahgoon, Burma,hure invonted a"certain new und usolul Improvement in Oi1-Shale Retorts,ofi Which the followiug is a specification.

This invention relates particu1 drly to the trvatment of oil-shale undsimilar solid 011- yielding materia]s Whioh (t0 not becon1e soft o1-plastic, but 1etain theirability to movo free1y by gravicarion When hated inu coufined spaoe; the invention is, however, also applicable to thetreatment of oil-yielding materials Which may be kept in continuousmotio1i by mechanical n1eans.

Mor particularly, the invention relates to a process of und apparatusfor the recovery of oils in a semi-refined conditiori, diroot fromoil-shales und si milar bi1-yielding ma terials, by the progressiveapplioation 0f heat.

It is well known that, by the application of heat to oil-shale,torbanite, coa1 und other similar oarbonaoeous substanoes, in a processof destructive distillation, mixed oils of n paraffin, naphthalene, orasphaltio base may be obtained. In the ordinary methods of retorting,these mixed oi1s are recoVered in the form of crude oi1 cont-aining anexcessive quantity of oracked und unsaturated oompounds 0Wing to themanner in.

which the process is conducted.

It has 110W been discovered that by the progressive applioa-tion of heatto the 0i1- yielding material in.a suitable retort 01 apparatus theprocess of decomposition may be so controlled as fraotionally to distillthe various main products direct from the, material being treated, theproduots so 0btained being of superior quality und requiring 1esstreatment in subsequent refining than oi1s produc'ed by older methods ofretorting.

In the acoompan} ing draw iugs whi.ch il- 1ustrate an apparatus-orretort acoording eo the invention, and in which likereferenoe lettorsindicate corresponding parts in the several figures, Fig. 1 is a p1an,Fig. 2 is a cross section 0n the line AB of Fig. l, Fig. 3 is a crossseotion on the line CD of Fig. l, and Fig. 4 .is a cross sectiomofthooonioal vapor trap und radial steam spray hereinafter re ferred to.

In the drawings d denotes a cast-iron upright retort co1uprisingsuperposed cy1indr1czr] soctimasi in Which th slrale4nr oi1 .yielding1naterial is heat'ed und whioh is prorided with a series of inolinedflues b crossing tho retort diametrally.

'lhe heating of tho retort may be acoom'- plished by burning extraneousfuel or the fixed gas produced in the process of distillatioh. undconducting the heated products of combustion, by m eans of the annularfiues a Which encompass the retort, to the variou5 sections 110 beheated. The oirculation of th6 hented gases through the external flues01 ia" oontro1led by the dampers d and the oirou lation through theinternal fluesb is ontrolled by th'e dampers d 01 the het may besupplied under control to the individual sections of the retort byme'ans of an1iu1ar gas burnors e. r The retort is provided with a numberof vapor traps f fitted to exit pipes g by means of Whi0h the 011 Vaporsmay be conducted from the 1etort as formed und led through dust traps hto any suitableL form of coudensing apparatus. The vapor exit piPes gare insulated in their passage through the external heating flues c bymear1s of asbost0s or other suitable material, in order thatsuper-heating of the. vapours and oonsequent eracking may be avoided.The comical vapor traps f are arranged at such intervals in the retortas is indioated by the temperature gradient to be maintained and therequired number and boiling points of the fractions t-o be recovered.The bottoms of the oonical vapor traps are provided with annular ductsor pipes i perforated in such manner as 130 permlt the i'fxtroduction ofsteam irito the retort in the form of radial 'sprays or soreens. Thesteam s creens substantially prevent the mingling of the vapors producedin any section of the .retort with those produced in adjacent sections.

Steam may also be introduced at the bottom 100 o:f the retort throughperforations opening into the annular steam box j.

The charging of oho material to be t-reated and the disoharging 0f thespent residue may be efiecied by any suitable apparatus 105 Whichprovides an efiective sea1 against the escape of gases from th e retort.

In the prooess 0f treatment the material is broken to a suitabl e size2ind charged in ab the top of the retort, the spent residue be- 110 ingcontinally discharged from the botton1. A s the material assesdownw-ards through the various sections of the retort, it progressivelyyields its 011 constituents, according to the increasing temperaturesthrough which it passes. The tempevature gmdient 0f 'the rebort isregulated so that thc 10W- boiling-point benzinenaphth vapors nmy bedrawn from the top exit pipe; the kerosene, burning oi1, intermediate0i1, und heavy 0i1 and paraffin-wax vap0rs being drawn from subsequentlower ex1t pipes, according t0 the heat regulation, as desired.

1. Apparatus for the fractional distillation 0f 0i1 direct from solidoil-yielding materia1 comprising a vertical retort, an externa1 fluesurrounding the retort and serving as an external heating chanaber,partitio ns separating t-he s21id external flue into separate chan1bersand internal flues extending ab an an le to the horizontal through saidretort; an forming a connection between adjacent chambers 0f theexternal flue.

2. Apparatus for the fractional distilla-' tion of 011 direct from solidoil-yielding ma terial, compr1mng a vert1cal retort, meanS 'f01'applyi1ig heat t0 the 1"etorb including a surrounding flue, snidfluedivide d into sections, said sections cont-rolled by dmnpers und.interna1 flues egxtendling' from section to section and forming a.conntion between adjacent sections 0f the surrounding fluc.

3. Apparatus f01' the fractional distillati0n '0f 0i1 direct from solidoil-yielding material, comprising a vertical retort, means f01 a.pplyingheat to the retort including a surrounding flue, said flue divided int0sec tions, Said sections controlled by durnPers, internal fluesextending from section to section ancl forming a connecbion bet-weenadjacent sections 0f th6surrounding flue, and dampers controlling saidinternal flues. Y

4. Apparatus for the fractional distillation of oil direct from solidoil-yielding material, compfising a vertical retort, means f01 producingradially extnding steam screens within s aid vertical retort and aphirality of Vapom traps vertically spaced, said vapour traps disposedaxia1ly of said vertical retort.

In testimony whereof I have signed name t0 this speoification.

H. CRO ZIER.

